So all 4 opening round series ended as soon as they got underway. All 4 teams I picked to win did. The Dodgers won in suprising fashion, sweeping the Cubs. And here I thought fate would take the Cubbies to 5 games and then an error by gold glover Derrek Lee would seal the deal for a loss. Nope, no game 5, but plenty, PLENTY of errors, especially a rare one by Derrek Lee.

Congrats to the teams that won, and the teams that made it but got sent home early.

Now for the bigger business. My picks to rep their leagues in the World Series.

Rays in 6. Okay so I'm a Florida native and you have to expect some bias from me. This will be a really tough series for both teams. The Rays will need to jump out on top quick if they want to win. Both teams are evenly matched top to bottom. Red Sox and Rays are coming off of easy-win series and will now face the ultimate test. The winner of these two teams will be the strong favorites by many to go on and win the world series. Pitching and late-inning clutch hits will determine the winner of this series. Both bullpens will need to bear down and be ready for anything. This series could easily go either way and go 7 games. Brace yourself for one of the best series in a long time.

Dodgers in 6. Dodgers are red hot and hungry for this. Manny is licking his bat, porkchops, and is probably prank calling Boston to let them know he's coming for them and he's bringing Joe Torre for the ride. The Dodgers won't have problems facing lefty pitchers like the Brewers did. Both of these teams are well rested and well tested. The advantage goes to the Dodgers for their pitching. Great bullpen and a stronger starting rotation. I was thinking this series could end in 5, but I gotta have faith that Hamels and Moyer will pull out victories in their starts. After that it becomes a mystery of how many times will their hitters strikeout and which pitcher is due to get ripped.

Red Sox in 4. While the Angels pitching was impressive this season, keep in mind, they aren't dominant. The Red Sox can still score pretty well with Bay, Drew, Ellsbury, Lowell, Varitek, Youkilis and Ortiz. The pitching rotations are nearly evenly matched with the Red Sox starters having a slight edge and the Angels bullpen holding a slight edge. Both lineups are evenly matched, but I'm going with the defending champs on this one. Beckett hasn't been very healthy lately and has struggled, he's due just in time for October.

Rays in 4. The Rays dominant rotation will be the impressive figure and keys to their success in this series and the rest of the playoffs. Their hitting can catch fire, but their guys have been beat up with injuries. The White Sox can slug the ball well and should steal a game, maybe two.

Phillies in 4. The Brewers will have to face two lefties, Moyer and Hamels in two of the first three games. C.C. Sabathia should be able to beat out Brett Myers in their matchup as long as he doesn't choke like last year. The Phillies offense is too much to handle, and the Brewers don't have a superb pitcher that can shut down a lineup loaded with some of the best hitters in the NL.

Dodgers in 5. The Dodgers come into this series with the best bullpen in baseball. Joe Torre has tons of veterans with playoff experience with the likes of Jeff Kent, Manny Ramirez, Juan Pierre, Andruw Jones, Derek Lowe, Nomar Garciaparra and Casey Blake. The possibility of the Dodgers winning this series shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. They are a severely uner-rated underdog with a lot of talent. The Cubs may have the best lineup 1-8, but Pineilla has been known to leave some guys in the pen a little too long even in the playoffs. This should be an interesting series. Dodgers haven't won a series since 1988 and the Cubs haven't won a world series in over a hundred years.

So I decided to compile what would be the top 5 potential stories every lazy self proclaimed 'genius' baseball commentator, writer, and sports talk show host will dread upon. Ahem, I am talking specifically North Easterner sports news media.

5. Clemens Goes Ape Mad

In a shocking turn of events, Clemens decides to snitch. Yes, that is right. The one thing the media won't enjoy is this tired old man deciding he is going to snitch on every player he knows of that used steroids. Clemens decides that if he's not going to the Hall of Fame, then it is time to take some guys out, innocent or not. Clemens goes on to name names of former team mates that juiced ... Wade Boggs, Jorge Posada, Ruben Sierra, Carl Pavano, Bernie Williams, Carlos Delgado, Vernon Wells, John Wetteland, Craig Biggio, Mariano Rivera. etc etc etc. Not saying these guys juiced, but it would certainly be a very sickening day for every former team mate that played with Roger in Boston, New York, Houston, and Toronto. And then even more sickening for the fans and media to have to cover the story. While it likely may not happen, anything is possible nowadays.

What kind of nightmare would it be, should the Yankees not only fail to make the playoffs, but if the Red Sox get swept in round one by a team like the Cleveland Indians. With Josh Beckett it isn't likely the BoSox would get swept, but in October anything can happen.

The most popular article at the beginning of the season was how much Alex Rodriguez was making, and that he was making more than a major league ball club, the Florida Marlins. What kind of bitterness could Yankee fans hold on to should the Rays or Marlins make it to the playoffs while the Yankees end up at home. Should either of these teams finish with a better season then the Yankees you have to sit there and ask yourself, would you rather pay Alex Rodriguez 24 million dollars a year while your team barely stays out of last place, or pay 17 million dollars for the entire Marlins team?

Yep pack your gear you lazy corporate New Yorkers, this means you won't be able to sit on your lazy behind from a lap top at home to cover teams that are playing outside your window. Pack the bags and get ready to take a flight to Chicago, Oakland, maybe Seattle, Tampa, Miami, Arizona, Anaheim, or whatever other dark horse team that clinches a playoff spot. This could be one of the most dreaded winters ever

1. All Florida World Series

The Tampa Bay Rays versus the Florida Marlins. While the Rays and Marlins have not really had much rivalry during interleague play, a huge rivalry in the making could potentially happen tihs year in October should both teams make it that far. What does that mean? Yes you guessed it, an all Florida World Series. It is only May right now, but it could happen. The Rays currently are in second place, while the Marlins are in first place with the best record in baseball coming in tonight.

But of course, we're only in May and this is way too premature. Still it could happen.